Blackbird
by the frozen cherry
Summary: Saskia 'Sasha' Barton had just been told that her beloved father had been captured, when she was also told that she in danger and that the mysterious Agent Natasha Romanoff would be protecting her. Agent Natasha Romanoff, was annoyed to be assigned babysitting duty, until she realised it was the daughter she had left behind 10 years ago...
1. Prologue

**Hi Cherry here! **

**This is my new story. **

**I haven't written much in a while so I'm a bit rusty.**

** I hope it is ok and you're interested in it! :)**

* * *

The woman put down the pen silently, onto the desk, after she finished her letter. Almost robotically, she folded it precisely in half before slipping it inside a cream coloured envelope. She then picked up the pen for the final time, to write her daughter's name on the outside. A sudden creak caused the red haired woman to jump and then glance nervously over her shoulder. Her eyes drifting over towards the room in which her husband was sleeping.

Normally, he was a light sleeper as a result of his old sniper training. He was awake, bolt upright and ready to fight at the slightest movement or sound. However tonight, he had gone straight into a deep slumber, as his body tried to cope with the amount of alcohol Tony Stark had forced down his throat in celebration of the fact that the owner of Stark Industries was to become a father.

Tony had announced that his long suffering former PA, turned girlfriend, was carrying not one, but two of his children, after they had tucked their tired daughter into her cot that night. She he been worn out by the birthday party they had thrown for her. Natasha could not believe that her little baby was now one year old – it seemed only yesterday that she was cursing Clint for putting her through so much pain and then for it all to go away when she heard her daughter's first cries.

She stood up and picked up the envelope, debating what to do with the letter she had written, did she leave it behind or keep it for a later date? Whatever she decided to do, Natasha knew that what she was going to do next was unforgivable and yet she knew that she had to go. She cursed the eye patch wearing formidable director of S.H.I.E.L.D, for making her do this, but she understood that she still had a debt to pay, a ledger still to wipe clean and this was the only way to guarantee that her child would be kept safe.

Natasha made her way silently across the carpeted lounge area of the apartment which she shared with her husband, towards her daughter's nursery. She stopped momentarily at the door, taking a deep breath in preparation to say goodbye. She snuck inside and made her way over to the crib, before reaching down and gentle stroking her small daughter's chocolate coloured curls.

'_I love you Sashenka' _she whispered in her native tongue, before slowly retracting her hand.

Her daughter, as if sensing her mother's presence leaving her, began to whimper in her sleep. Natasha, not wanting her daughter to wake up and start having one of her infamous screaming fits, thus leaving herself open to being questioned by the other members of the tower, who were all known the run to her daughter's cries, as to why she was currently dressed in a flight suit, not her standard pyjamas, placed her hand back into the crib and ran her hand down her baby's back in a soothing manner. As she began to hum a lullaby, her daughter quietened and seizing the chance, Natasha hastily left the room.

Making a final decision, Natasha tucked the envelope into one of her jacket pockets – she would give or send it to her daughter when she was old enough to understand. She then picked up the duffle bag she had stealthily been packing over the last couple of weeks and with one last look at the now dark apartment, she made her way towards the elevator.

'JARVIS' she whispered, as the elevator doors closed in front of her she started to descend

'Yes Agent Romanoff?' Stark's AI asked

'Can you let them know I'm sorry?'

'Yes Agent Romanoff' the AI replied, before silence filled the elevator. A ding, broke Natasha out of her thoughts and she stepped out of the elevator into the glass walled atrium of Stark tower, where she could see a black standard S.H.I.E.L.D car waiting for her.

'JARVIS' she whispered again, as she was about to step out into the cold December night air 'can you try and keep them safe for me?'

'I'll try Agent Romanoff' the AI replied crisply and with that, Natasha took a deep breath before leaving the tower, her teammates, her friends, her husband and her daughter behind.


	2. Chapter 1

'Agent Sitwell said you wanted to see me sir' Agent Romanoff stated as she strode casually into Director Fury's office.

'Yes, take a seat Agent' the eye patch wearing director replied 'I have a mission for you'

'But Sir, I thought was off missions until Medical cleared me?' Natasha asked as she settled herself in the uncomfortable leather seat opposite the director. However she wasn't complaining, since she hated the fact she was stuck on desk duty at S.H.I.E.L.D's headquarters in New York. She had thought that being water boarded was the worst type of torture, but being forced to do hour after hour, page after page of translation and linguistics analysis she was now reconsidering.

'You shouldn't find this mission too strenuous' Fury replied 'Agent Barton and Agent Morse went missing late last night and we have reason to believe that the organisation they were investigating is interested in Agent Barton's daughter, Saskia' he explained handing over the details of the Barton-Morse mission for Natasha to flick through.

'They should never have been sent on this mission' Natasha hissed, glaring at the director, 'it should have been given to me. Agent Barton has no reason to go near these people'

'I would have sent you Agent Romanoff, if you weren't being held in medical, recovering from a shoulder wound' Fury stated. 'May I remind you, who went off grid, ended up getting shot at in Uzbekistan and then ended up calling me to save their ass?'

'I didn't need you to save me' Natasha muttered 'I just needed a lift'

'You owe me Agent Romanoff' Fury said

'So you want me to go after Agent Morse and Agent Barton?' Natasha asked, not looking forward to coming face to face with her ex-partner, whom she hadn't seen in over ten years.

'No, I don't want you to do something less strenuous, I need to protect Agent Barton's daughter until one of my teams locate and rescue him and Agent Morse'

'No, I can't do this' Natasha protested

'You will be staying in Stark Tower, I cleared it with Mrs Stark earlier' the Director continued, ignoring the redhead's protests 'and Agent Lewis should be bringing Saskia Barton in shortly'

'Why me? Any baby agent could do this?' Natasha asked. She was not one normally to question the missions she was given, but faced with the prospect of practically babysitting the daughter she left behind all those years ago and living with the probably very hostile team she had abandoned without an explanation, made her worried. 'Why aren't the Avengers sufficient protection for an eleven year old girl?' she asked

'I though you would be thanking me Agent Romanoff' Fury replied with a slight smile

Natasha's angry retort failed to leave her mouth at the sound of knocking on the door.

'Come in' Fury called out.

* * *

Saskia Barton walked quickly along behind Agent Darcy Lewis, though the corridors of S.H.I.E.L.D's land headquarters in New York towards Director Fury's office. She had only met the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D a couple of times before and those times, her Dad had been next to her, holding her hand, so she wasn't so scared of the formidable eye patch wearing man.

Darcy had collected her from her neighbour's house, where she normally stayed whilst her father was away on missions. He didn't go away often and was normally back home in a couple of days. This was the first time he had not been back when he said he would be and she was anxious as to what Director Fury wanted to talk to her about.

She tried to push the dark depressing thoughts out of her head, as she followed Darcy, trying to ignore the curious stares of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents coming in the opposite direction, who were wondering what a little eleven year old girl was going in the headquarters of a top secret government organisation.

'We're here' Darcy announced before reaching up to knock on the wooden door. 'Don't worry, he's not that scary' she whispered reassuringly, upon seeing her young charge's worried face 'and I'm sure your father's fine, he's the amazing Hawkeye after all!'

Saskia gave a nervous half giggle at the way the older agent had thrown her arms in the air and had pulled a pose with jazz hands, as she said her dad's stage name, which he had used in the circus many years ago. 'I hope you're right' she whispered as they got the order to go into the office.

As they walked in, Saskia noticed that the Director was not alone in the room, but there was a woman in there with him. She stood up as they entered and made her way to the door, leaving the seat in front of the Director's desk free. As she sat down in the chair, she noticed how, the nearly always smiling Darcy was glaring at this other woman, who looking back at Darcy with a bored expression on her face. The woman was below average height, with sandy brown coloured hair coming to just below her shoulders. She wasn't wearing the standard female navy S.H.I.E.L.D uniform she had seen Darcy and other agents wearing, but dark skinny jeans, leather boots, a navy top and a burnt orange coloured, old leather jacket. Saskia wondered who she was and what she was doing there.

* * *

Natasha's breath caught in her throat as her daughter came into the room followed by another familiar face, Darcy Lewis. She could remember when she had first met Darcy, when the brunette had tagged along with Jane Foster when they first came to Stark tower and had ended up staying as the unofficial scientist handler. S.H.I.E.L.D must have noticed Darcy's ability to make sure a group of insanely clever but ridiculously helpless scientist fed and watered, Natasha mused as the brunette in question glared at her. The natural red head, though her hair was still dyed a sandy brown after her last mission, just rolled her eyes, no one could match the Black Widow when it came to giving evil death glares.

Natasha returned her attention to her daughter, who was now sitting in front of the Director. She looked small for her age, with dark, chocolate coloured hair tied up in a loose ponytail and she had father's blue-grey eyes, which were looking around the room nervously. Natasha was also silently happy to see that her daughter's baby curls, had not disappeared with age. That made up for the unexpected twist her heart had felt when her daughter had looked at her curiously and had shown no signs of recognition. She watched as her daughter, who had previously been sitting upright, slumped as Fury told her about her father's disappearance.

'Is he dead?' Saskia asked in a small voice, looking up at the formidable looking director.

'No Miss Barton, as far as we know your father and his partner, Agent Morse are still alive'

'You just don't know where they are'

'Yes, but I have my best teams working on it, so you don't have to worry'

'What's going to happen with me?' She then asked, knowing that there was a reason why Fury had called her to Headquarters and not just sent and Agent out to her neighbour's house to find her.

'Well Saskia, you know what your father does right?'

The brown haired girl nodded, wondering where Fury was going

'Well, the organisation he was sent to deal with made it known that they were interested in coming after you'

'Why me?' She asked, wondering what was so special about her

'So you're going to be staying with in Stark tower with one of my best agents for protection' Fury continued, ignoring the eleven year old's question.

Darcy gave a disbelieving scoff and looked back over at Natasha who was still standing in the corner – was the director absolutely mad? What was he thinking, sending a woman who had heartlessly put her job first before her own family, to protect Sasha?

'Is something the matter Agent Lewis?' Fury asked glaring at the agent with his one good eye

'No sir, something just got caught in my throat' Darcy replied, embarrassed.

'Well, since Miss Barton is here now, why don't you go and do something more useful, I'm sure I overheard Agent Hill saying that you still had a lot of paperwork still outstanding'

'Yes Director Fury, Sir' Darcy said quickly 'you'll be fine kid, I promise' she added to Saskia, before making a hasty retreat out of the room.

'Miss Barton, I'd like you to meet Agent Romanoff, she's going to be the one who will be protecting you' Fury said, beckoning Natasha closer

Natasha waited for any signs of recognition at her name, but none came.

'Hi I'm Sasha' the eleven year old said, standing up and offering the agent her hand to shake as she politely introducing herself.

'Sasha?' Natasha questioned, wondering about the change in name

'Only my Dad and Director Fury call me Saskia' Sasha replied. 'When I was younger I couldn't pronounce my name properly' she explained 'so I ended up calling myself Sasha and the name just stuck. So what should I call you?' she asked looking up at the older woman, who was staring at her with an unreadable expression on her face.

'I'm Natasha' the Agent replied with a small smile taking the young girl's out stretched hand and shaking it firmly.

'I can assure you Saskia, Agent Romanoff is the best in what she does and she will keep you safe' Fury added

'How much danger am I in?' Sasha asked

'I don't know yet' the Director admitted 'but I made a promise, a long time ago now, that I would do everything in my power to keep you safe, so here we are. Now why don't you and I come up with a list of things you would like from home, whilst Agent Romanoff goes and sorts out her things' he suggested.

'I'll meet you by the back entrance in half an hour' she stated before leaving the room and heading back towards her quarters.

Upon reaching her room at the edge of the base, Natasha quickly swiped her security card through the lock to gain entrance, before entering and collapsing on her small bed in the corner. When, in a fit of uncharacteristic desperation, she had called Fury to come and rescue her from the backstreets of Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, she had not imagined that a month later, this was how she was going to repay him. It was a very cruel game the Director was playing. She had left behind her family, at his suggestion that they would not be safe, especially her innocent baby daughter, until all the red in her ledger had been wiped clean and her past eliminated. Now here she was, having to protect her daughter, without her daughter actually knowing who she was.

Thinking about her beautiful daughter, Natasha's fingers subconsciously reached under her shirt, past the wedding ring, which she wore on a chain around her neck, to the old silver locket. She clicked it open to reveal a picture of her, Clint and a small baby Saskia smiling at the camera. It had been a shock to hear Saskia call herself Sasha, especially since Clint had been so adamant that their daughter's name was going to be Saskia. Sasha, had been the name Natasha had wanted to use, but it had been shot down for sounding so similar to Tasha.

After closing the locket and putting it away, Natasha stood up and began to pack all the things she would require for this mission, before getting changed into something more suitable for making an impression on the inhabitants of Stark tower. Finally she was ready and with one last glance behind her to make sure she had everything with her, she switched off the light and walked out of the room towards the back entrance to meet up with Sasha and Fury. She could not predict how the next couple of hours would go and how well the members of the Avengers would receive her after ten years.

* * *

**AN: Thank you to everyone who followed and favourited the last chapter. Also an extra special thanks to the people who reviewed, it means a lot to me. I have been away from writing for so long, that I had forgotten what a thrill it is to see an email telling me someone has followed, favourited or reviewed one of your stories.**

**To any one who reads my other Avengers stories, I'm really really sorry I haven't updated Natashen'ka in months. I promise I have not abandoned it, just hit a small writers block. So I'll be concentrating on this story at the moment whilst I work out where the other one is going.**

**I hope you liked this chapter!**

_**Cherry :)**_


	3. Chapter 2

Sasha watched as the agent, who was now meant to be protecting her, strode confidently towards her. Agent Romanoff had changed from her fairly casual attire into a smart trouser suit and heels with her sandy brown hair now up in a business-like up do. She wasn't the only one who had noticed the female agent's change of clothes, as Director Fury raised his one visible eyebrow at his agent's appearance.

'I need to look professional' Agent Romanoff stated as if reading Sasha's mind 'make an impression'

'You remind me of an Agent I once knew' Director Fury suddenly said, giving Natasha a small half smile 'he used to dress like that when he was on babysitting duty'

Sasha looked slightly affronted that this was considered a babysitting duty – she was eleven, hardly a baby! However she continued listening into the adults' conversation. It was like they were saying things in code, which she did not understand. Her Dad did that as well, except he would say things, before looking around, wondering why no one understood him, and then a sad look would pass over his face.

'If I could be half the person that agent was, I would be a happy woman' Natasha replied, clearly knowing the agent Fury was referring to and Sasha watched curiously as her hands reached up to touch a small brooch, which was pinned to the left hand side of her suit jacket. She could just make out that it was some sort of stringed instrument, a strange badge for a secret agent to wear, Sasha thought.

'Well we mustn't keep them waiting' Fury announced, opening the car door and helping Sasha inside 'from what I gathered from Mrs Stark, they are very anxious to see you' he said addressing Sasha. 'Can you give these to Agent Carter and ask her to come and see me as soon as possible?' Fury then asked Natasha, who nodded and took the outstretched black folder, Fury was holding, before clambering into the car next to Sasha.

'Good luck and I'll be in touch' the Director said finally, before closing the car door.

'So you know Sharon, I mean Agent Carter?' Sasha asked the agent now sat next to her as the car drove off onto the busy streets of New York.

'Yes' Natasha replied

'She and Uncle Steve got engaged over Christmas' Sasha added, trying to make conversation 'it was about time, since they've been dating since forever'

'Did you manage to make a list of all the belongings you want from brought from your house?' Natasha asked

'Yes, though it's not that much because quite a lot of my stuff is in the tower' Sasha replied

'Really?'

'Yeah, Dad and I stay there all the time. At home it's just Dad and me, so it's nice to spend some time with other people. Uncle Bruce is great for helping with homework, Uncle Steve is a much better cook than Dad, Aunt Pepper takes me shopping because Dad is useless at things like that and I love playing with Milly and Ed'

'And Mr Stark?' Natasha asked, trying hard to not let it show how happy she was that her daughter had a supportive group of people behind her.

'Uncle Tony is the best' Sasha replied with a big grin on her face

'So you don't see Thor much?' Natasha asked 'he's also one of the Avengers?' wondering about the Asgardian demi-god, whom she had gone on several missions with, as a member of the Avengers.

'I don't see him very much. He seems to spend most of his time on Asgard' Sasha replied. 'Also Dad and Thor don't seem to get on that well; they seem to keep having disagreements'

'So it's just you and your Dad?' Natasha asked, trying to gain any more information about Clint from her daughter. Though she had tried to keep tabs on him, it was better to hear information from someone close to him.

'If you're asking about my Mom, I don't have one' Sasha replied bluntly. 'Well of course I have one' she amended 'but she left me and my Dad when I was just a baby. Dad never mentions her and the rest of the team refuse to speak about her. I don't even know her name or what she looks like'

'Do you want to know?' Natasha asked curiously

'No particularly. She obviously did not think I was that important if she just abandoned without an explanation or a goodbye and besides I don't need her, I've got all the family I need.'

'Oh'

'That's not to say I don't imagine what she's like' Sasha added, wondering what was it about this woman that compelled her to talk to her. 'I think she must have had the same colour hair as me' she said tugging at a lock of her chocolate brown coloured hair 'since my Dad's hair used to be a dirty blonde, a bit like yours, before it went grey'

Before Sasha could continue with her description, the car came to a stop and they climbed out to face the entrance of Stark Tower. After collecting her bags, Natasha, followed by Sasha entered the tower to be greeted by JARVIS, the resident AI.

'Welcome Miss Barton, Agent Romanoff, they are waiting for you on floor 108' he stated in his crisp English accent, which had not changed over the years.

'Hi JARVIS, how are you?' Sasha asked

'I'm very well, thank you Miss Barton' he replied as they headed towards the elevator.

'JARVIS, do they know I'm the one accompanying Sasha?' Natasha asked quietly as they stepped into the open elevator.

'No Agent Romanoff' JARVIS answered 'Director Fury just said a S.H.I.E.L.D agent would be with Miss Barton and would stay with her for extra protection'

'I bet Tony loved that' Natasha muttered under breath as they rose up the tower.

'I believe that Mr Stark might have said a few choice words about the organisation you work for' the AI replied dryly.

'Well this is going to be fun' Natasha said as the elevator doors opened onto the Avenger's communal area, where they spent most of their free time.

'You don't have to worried, they're all really nice' Sasha said, trying to reassure the older woman, not catching the sarcasm in Natasha's voice.

Natasha's reply was cut off by Sasha's squeal as she saw her Uncle.

'Uncle Tony!' she cried, running straight into the older man's arms 'oh it's so good to see you'

'It's good to see you here, safe' Tony replied, wrapping his arms tightly around the eleven year old girl, who he considered to be his niece.

'Where are Milly and Ed?' Sasha asked, asking after her 'cousins'. She could not see the ten year old Stark Twins anywhere.

'Your Aunt Pepper thought it would be good if they spent some of their summer vacation spending time with her parents and then going to a summer camp' Tony explained 'apparently they should have some normal childhood experiences, or something like that' he said rolling his eyes.

'Don't roll your eyes Tony Stark, you know as well as I do that they'll have a great time' Pepper said entering the room, from the kitchen which was just off the communal area.

'Yes Pep' Tony replied releasing Sasha, who immediately was pulled into one of Pepper's special Mama-bear hugs.

'Are you ok sweetheart?' she asked Sasha

'Yeah, I think so' Sasha replied, the enormity of the situation with her father going missing and herself being in danger, had not really sunk in yet.

'Well I'm here if you need to talk' Pepper replied.

'So which Agent do you have protecting you?' Tony asked, expecting Fury to have sent one of his incompetent baby agents with Sasha. 'What's you name Agent?' he called out.

'Romanova, Natalia Romanova' Natasha replied, stepping out from the shadows, from where she had been observing the little reunion.

'Why is it every time you introduce yourself to me, you use a different name?' Tony asked, over his wife's surprised gasp. Out of all the agents Fury could have sent, Natasha was the last one they had considered.

'Maybe because it's fun Mr Stark' Natasha replied smoothly, walking towards them.

'So what are we to call you then?' Pepper asked, somewhat coldly. She could not believe that the woman who had abandoned her family and disappeared into the night, was now stood in front her, introducing herself as the agent who was to protect Sasha.

'For your convenience Mrs Stark, you may call me Agent Romanoff, or Natasha if you prefer' Natasha replied politely, reading the strawberry blonde's body language, which was incredibly hostile.

'JARVIS just told me that Sasha had arrived' Dr Bruce Banner stated as he come rushing into the room, from the labs. 'Nat-Agent Romanoff, what are you doing here?' he asked upon seeing his former teammate.

'I'm here to help protect Miss Barton' Natasha replied professionally.

Sasha watched curiously the interactions between the adults. It was as if they all knew Agent Romanoff, who for some reason had introduced herself under a different name to Uncle Tony. She could feel the tension radiating off everyone as she wait to see what would happen next.

'Agent Romanoff, Ma'am, what are you doing here?' came the confused voice of Agent Sharon Carter, who had just entered the room, cutting through the silence, as she dragged her fiancé, Captain Steve Rogers, in behind her.

'Ah Agent Carter, Director Fury told me to give these to you' Natasha said, handing over the files Fury had given her. 'He also said that he wanted to see you as soon as possible'

'Yes Ma'am' Agent Carter replied with a nod.

'Captain Rogers, may I just say that I'm so glad you finally got round to proposing to Agent Carter' Natasha added, addressing the unofficial leader of the Avengers. 'At least now she doesn't spend as much time moaning in the locker rooms, about waiting for you to get your act together.'

'You know each other?' Tony asked watching the conversation between the two women.

'She's my boss' a now embarrassed Sharon replied.

'I was Agent Carter's trainer and temporary handler for a time' Natasha clarified

'How is your shoulder Ma'am, if you don't mind me asking?'

'Still healing' Natasha replied. 'I got shot in the shoulder recently' she added informing the other occupants of the room of her injury, knowing they would just bug her about it otherwise.

'Was it in Afghanistan again?'

'No not this time' Natasha replied, before giving Sharon a look, which clearly said _don't ask me any more questions_

'Well I'd better be off, this looks urgent' Sharon stated 'don't wait up' she whispered to Steve, giving him a quick peck on the lips before disappearing into the elevator.

'So why did you tell Uncle Tony a different name, to what you told me?' Sasha asked Natasha, as silence descended once again over the room.

'S.H.I.E.L.D knows me as Natasha Romanoff' Natasha explained 'but other people I work for know me by another name. I know how much Mr Stark hates being lied to, so I thought I should tell him my real name.'

'You don't work for S.H.I.E.L.D?' Steve asked overhearing the conversation.

'I work for them when it suits me' Natasha replied evasively 'but other organisations like to utilise my skills as well'

'So are you here under S.H.I.E.L.D?' Bruce asked.

'I'm here as a favour for Fury' Natasha replied 'I owed him for getting me out of a sticky situation' she added before pointing to her left shoulder. 'I'm going to have to check out the security in the tower' Natasha stated, adopting her business pose 'and if it is convenient, it would be best if I at room close to Sasha's'

'Yes, right, of course' Pepper stated 'there's a spare room in Agent Barton's quarters, where Sasha normally stays if that is ok'

'That sounds perfect'

'Agent Romanoff, I'll show you where it is' Sasha said, gesturing for the female agent to follow her.

'Why don't you head on up Sasha' Tony suggested 'I just need to have a quick word with Agent Romanoff'

'So do I' Steve added

Natasha rolled her eyes at their behaviour

'Nice hair' Tony remarked when Sasha was out of earshot 'I almost didn't recognise you'

'What do you want?' Natasha asked bluntly

'We, as concerned uncles' he said gesturing between him and Steve, who was standing next to him with his arms crossed 'would like to know your intentions towards Sasha'

'Look Stark, I'm just here to make sure she stays safe until Agent Barton is found and the threat against her neutralised. If I had my way, I would be out there finding him, but because of my shoulder, I'm out of action'

'But-' Steve started before being cut off by Natasha

'She doesn't know who I am, she doesn't want to know who I am and she doesn't need to know who I am' Natasha interjected. 'So I believe if you can keep things to yourself and not go blabbering to her, we will all get along fine' and with that she turned on her heel and after grabbing her bag she headed in the direction of Clint and Sasha's quarters.

'Hey Natasha' Tony called out, causing her to stop, turn around and glare at him 'I like your badge'

Natasha turned back around with a small smile as she thought about the small cello brooch pinned the left side of her suit, which she had got after the Battle of Manhattan in remembrance of Tony Stark's former baby sitter.

* * *

_So what did you think? _

_:)_


	4. Chapter 3

Natasha looked around the familiar quarters she used to share with Clint - it hadn't changed much. The furniture had just moved around a bit and it looked a bit more lived in, but that was about it.

'I think Aunt Pepper said you could sleep in there' Sasha said, coming out of her bedroom and pointing into the room next hers. 'I'm next door and Dad's room is just across the hall way'

'Ok' Natasha replied 'I was just going to unpack so- hey what are you doing?' she asked as Sasha walked over to the bookcase in the corner and began to climb it.

'I'm going into the vents' Sasha replied continuing to climb until she reached the top of the bookcase.

'The vents?'

'The ventilation shafts' Sasha stated 'Uncle Tony likes to change their layout every couple of months, just to mess with me and Dad, and I need to make sure he hasn't touch Dad's nest'

Natasha just nodded, noticing how the young girl's voice had begun to shake as she spoke of Clint's special place. 'Just make sure you stay inside the tower' she said, as Sasha stretched up to open the vent above her, before hauling herself inside. 'Just make sure you are back here in an hour' Natasha called out.

Natasha walked into the spare room Sasha had pointed to and set her bag on the bed before sitting down next to it. As she sat there, letting out a shaky breath, she could make out the sound of her daughter moving along the vents. Natasha smiled to herself; Sasha wasn't as stealthy as her father just yet.

_Bozhe moy –_ what was she doing sending an eleven year old girl into the vents of Stark tower? Natasha silently berated herself. By the sound of it, Sasha normally explored them with Clint, but Natasha knew that the ventilation system could be a very dangerous place, what would happen if Sasha got stuck or lost? She was meant to be protecting Sasha

'Agent Romanoff, forgive me for observing, but I just thought that you should know that Mister Stark has built the vents in this tower extra wide to accommodate Agent and Miss Barton's habits' came the crisp voice of JARVIS, causing the normally alert Natasha to jump slightly.

'Thanks JARVIS' Natasha replied 'just make sure you never spy on me again, otherwise I might have to introduce a particularly nasty virus into your systems' she threatened

'Yes Agent Romanoff' the AI replied with a sigh

'Has Sasha reached Agent Barton's nest yet?' Natasha asked

'She's just a couple of metres away from it' JARVIS reported.

Knowing that Sasha was ok up in the vents Natasha stood up and started unpacking the few belongings she had brought with her.

* * *

'Left four, straight on three, along a bit more, sharp right' Sasha muttered to herself as she made her way along the Stark tower vents, trying to be as stealthy as possible. Finally she reached her destination, her Dad's nest. It was located in a dead end in the tower's ventilation system.

It was just as he has left it from the last time they had stayed at Stark Tower over the spring break. Her Dad had set up an Easter egg hunt over the tower for her, Milly and Ed. In the nest, cushions were thrown around haphazardly, with a couple of old blankets tossed into one of the corners and a pile of her Dad's favourite books and magazines in the other.

Sasha began to tear up, the events of the day finally starting to overwhelm her. She had tried to stay brave and strong as she found out that her father was missing and that her own life was in danger, but now, in the place that reminded her so much of her Dad, her facade started to crack. She buried herself into one of the over sized cushions, wrapping her arms around herself as she breathed in her father's familiar scent, which lingered in the material. She actually did not come up to his nest that often as it was considered his private area, but sometimes, especially when she was upset her Dad would bring her here, place her on his lap and they would bury themselves into the many surrounding cushions as he read to her from one of his books. The most recent being The Hobbit, which was lying, half read, on top of the pile.

She missed her Dad. When he had dropped her off at their neighbour's house, she had hopped out of the car, turned around briefly to wave goodbye, before running to greet Mrs Montague, thinking that her Dad would be back to collect her, mission accomplished, the next day. How wrong she was.

Sasha was jolted out of her thoughts by the sounds of people talking beneath her. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she crawled over to the vent opening, where the noise was coming from and peered through the grate. She was directly above the Avenger's communal area.

'Tony, what are you doing?' Sasha heard her Aunt Pepper ask, in the familiar exasperated tone she only used when dealing with her husband

'What do you think I'm doing?' Tony replied. Sasha could just make out that he was tapping away on his Starkphone.

'Tony I thought you said you weren't going to hack into the S.H.I.E.L.D database anymore' Pepper chastised

'That Pep, was before Clint went missing and a certain Agent Romanoff reappeared. I want to know what Fury is up to. Ah ha, here we go...oh that's interesting...'

'What?' Steve asked. Over the years he had given up telling Tony off for breaking into S.H.I.E.L.D's systems and though he loathed to admit it, he liked finding out S.H.I.E.L.D's secrets just as much as the rest of them

'It seems that the mission our favourite Hawk was sent on was originally intended for Agent Romanoff.'

'So why isn't she on it?' Steve wondered. That was a very good question, Sasha thought as she continued to listen in on the adults' conversation.

'Maybe it's got something to do with the shoulder injury Sharon mentioned?' Bruce suggested

'Or it was because she knew that she would be captured and therefore made Fury give it to Clint' Tony said cynically

'Tony!' Pepper exclaimed

'What? You heard that she hasn't just been working been working for S.H.I.E.L.D all this time, who knows what type of organisations she has been involved with.'

'Natasha would never do that to Clint' Pepper said

'The Natasha we knew wouldn't, but we don't know this one' Tony replied seriously, beginning to tap quickly on the tablet

'Tony what are you doing?' Steve asked and Sasha, up in the vent, twisted around to get a better view of what her uncle was looking at. She was starting to wonder how Agent Romanoff knew her father and why she had never heard of her before.

'Tony, you said you were just going to look at the files detailing Clint's mission' Bruce stated

'Yes, but they're not that helpful' Tony replied. 'Look, the master assassin is now living with us so wouldn't you like to know what she's been up to?

Silence filled the room as Sasha watched; wanting to find out more information about the Agent Director Fury had assigned to protect her.

'No, that can't be right' Tony muttered to himself, tapping the screen furiously

'What?' Bruce asked

'JARVIS are you sure you got into all of S.H.I.E.L.D database?' he asked, ignoring his fellow scientist's question

'Yes Mr Stark' the AI replied

'Using Director Fury's level of clearance?'

'Of course Mr Stark'

'Then why Agent Romanoff's file redacted' Tony mused

'All redacted?' Steve asked

'Most of it' Tony replied flicking through the various documents which contained the black scrubbed out marks. 'It seems like all her medical records and mission history has been redacted. The only things that haven't are her Agent identification number and code name. What has she been up too?'

'JARVIS, where is Agent Romanoff' Bruce asked, somewhat hesitantly, trying not to think what would happen if the deadly Russian assassin had been listening in on their conversation.

'Agent Romanoff is getting settled in her room and has just received a call' the AI dutifully reported

Sasha watched through the vent as her uncle clapped his hands together with glee before ordering the AI to tap into Agent Romanoff's phone call.

'I'm afraid sir, that wouldn't be wise' JARVIS protested

'Why not JARVIS?' Tony asked, annoyed that his AI was disobeying him

'Well Agent Romanoff threatened to infect my servers with a particularly nasty virus if she caught me spying on her' JARVIS replied hesitantly

'Just do it JARVIS!' Tony ordered

'Right away sir'

Sasha sat back on one of the neighbouring cushions as Agent Romanoff's conversation started to filter through the speakers.

'_...we received this message about half an hour ago' _came the familiar deep voice of Director Fury

'_And what would you like me to about it?' _Natasha asked

'_I need you to come and help interpret it' _Fury replied '_I have agents now trying to trace the message back to its origin but I need better analysis of the Russian, there was something off with it'_

'_Fury you have a numerous number of agents who speak Russian' _Natasha replied with an audible huff in her voice. '_Besides, I only just got here' _

'_Natasha'_

'_Look I know what this is; you're having second thoughts about asking me to look after Sasha aren't you?' _Natasha asked '_You think I'm going to get too attached'_

'_No I-'_

'_Don't doubt me Director' _Natasha whispered in an almost threatening manner_'Let Agent Carter have a listen to the message' _she suggested

'_Agent Carter does not have the skills' _Fury pressed

'_Agent Carter is perfectly capable at analysing this message' _Natasha insisted '_I should know I trained her'. _Sasha observed how her Uncle Steve's face had brightened at the mention of his fiancé, before a puzzled look entered his eyes. Clearly Sharon had never mentioned that she spoke Russian. _'So did you check if it was actually Agents Barton and Morse in the message?' _Natasha asked

'_Ran it through voice recognition and the voices matched' _Fury replied

'_And what did they say?' _Natasha asked

'_Well Barton just said Semper Fi' _Fury reported

'_Just Semper Fi?' _ Natasha asked with an anxious hint in her voice. Sasha wondered what was meant by those strange words. She knew her Dad had them tattooed on his arm, but she didn't understand why Agent Romanoff seemed so relieved when the Director ensured her that Agent Barton had definitely said '_Semper Fi'._

'_So what did Agent Morse say?' _Natasha asked

'_Well she was more confusing' _Fury stated _'we knew it was her, because of the voice recognition, but we haven't worked out what she is getting at. All she does is list some numbers'_

'_Which ones?' _

'_She just says '146 3' _Fury replied _'She then repeats them again and then the message ends. I've got some of the best cryptographers working on it, but we still haven't managed to get what she is on about'_

'_I'll rack my brains' _Natasha replied '_Keep me posted if you hear anything else'_

'_Stay safe Natasha and good luck'_

And with that the call ended leaving everyone who had been listening on the conversation on silence.

'Well that was interesting' Tony mused

'I still don't believe Sharon had contact with Agent Romanoff all this time and never said anything' Steve muttered pacing around the room.

'Well at least we know they are still alive and hopefully they will be found soon' Pepper said optimistically as she headed towards the kitchen.

The rest of the team, following Pepper's lead, began to go their separate ways thinking about what they had just overheard and wondering if their teammate was going to be alright.

Sasha, up in vents, looked down at her watch in alarm, she had five minutes before Agent Romanoff headed into the vents to look for her. She knew the Agent was tasked with protecting her, but with all she had overheard, she didn't completely trust her and she didn't want her finding her and her Dad's private space. After straightening out one of the cushions and picking up the copy of the Hobbit, Sasha made her way back through the maze of vents to her quarters.

* * *

_A huge thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! :)  
_


	5. Chapter 4

Sasha woke up with the sun, rising up over the tall Manhattan skyscrapers, streaming through her bedroom window. She quickly lifted her hand to block out the July morning sun, before rolling over and burying herself underneath her pillow, in an attempt to get back to sleep. She had had a rough night, tossing and turning as she tried to block out the images of her Dad and her Dad's partner, Bobbie being captured. Every time she had closed her eyes, images of their tormented faces had appeared. In the end she had managed to get a couple of hours sleep by digging out her old baby blanket and cuddly toy. She had clutched the well worn toy bird close to her chest, whilst wrapping herself up into a cocoon, surrounded by her Dad's comforting smell, trying to imagine that he was there next to her, his arms, instead of the blanket, wrapped around her.

Her stomach gave a low loud groan, causing the eleven year old to reluctantly through off her purple duvet and head out of her room into the apartment. Sasha noticed that the guest room door, the room the mysterious Agent Romanoff was staying in, was open. Upon looking inside she discovered the room empty and the bed looking like it had not been slept in.

'JARVIS, where is Agent Romanoff?' she asked the all knowing AI

'Agent Romanoff is currently in the main kitchen' JARVIS replied.

'Thanks' Sasha stated before heading out of her apartment and down the flights of stairs to the main kitchen area which was used by all of the Avengers living in the tower. Her stomach rumbled again, demanding food. Last night's dinner had been a very awkward affair. The quietest dinner Sasha had ever known in the tower. Everyone had kept shooting Agent Romanoff fugitive looks when they thought she was not looking, whilst the Agent had merely kept her head down and picked at the food Bruce had cooked. Even though Bruce had cooked one of her favourite stir-fries, Sasha had not felt like eating, her stomach churning as she worried about her dad.

Sasha came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs as she watched her Uncle Steve exit the nearby elevator and head into the kitchen. She silently walked towards to the door, trying to overhear the conversation that had started between Uncle Steve and Agent Romanoff. From what she had overheard whilst up in the vents yesterday, there was clearly a history between Agent Romanoff and the rest of the Avengers and she was curious to know more. Out of all the avengers and the dinner table, Uncle Steve had been shooting the deadliest glares at the Agent. Practising the techniques her Dad had started to teach her, Sasha bent down, out of sight and started to listen in.

* * *

'_...Thank you Maks, I'll see you tomorrow...bye'_ Natasha said in her native Russian, before ending the call. She then turned her attention back to the cup of tea she had been trying to make before the phone call, only to discover a certain Captain America looking at her expectantly.

'Was that to do with Clint and Agent Morse?' he asked, walking towards the fridge and pulling out some orange juice

'No- personal business' Natasha replied

The Captain raised an eyebrow, the Black Widow he had known from 10 years ago hadn't really had much personal business besides her relationship with Clint.

'And it is none of your concern' the Russian stated firmly 'none'

'It is if it concerns Sasha'

'Well it doesn't' Natasha said, before turning away from Steve.

Steve now looked Natasha's back. A white bandage wrapped around her shoulder was visible through the black tank top she was wearing. Looking closer, just where her short sandy blond coloured hair brushed the top of her shoulder blades, he could see spots of blood dotted on the bandage.

'Is did you get shot?' he asked

'Yes, well grazed' she replied 'Did you have a good work out this morning?' she asked, trying to strike up a civilised conversation with the captain.

'You know maybe you should get Bruce to look at it' Steve stated 'you realise it's bleeding'

'Damn!' Natasha swore, reaching up behind her head to gingerly feel her wound. 'I must have pulled some of the stitches when I was checking out the towers security system this morning.'

'I wouldn't call 2am this morning Agent Romanoff' came the smug voice of Tony Stark entering the kitchen, followed by his wife Pepper.

'I did tell you I was going to do it and what better time than when the tower is most vulnerable' Natasha stated taking a sip of her rapidly cooling tea. 'So how did you find out?'

'JARVIS told me after I woke up this morning. I asked for the night's report as usual and he said you had been scaling the side of the tower. Did you have trouble sleeping?'

'Well I have discovered several holes in your security, details of which I'll pass onto you once I've spoken to Agent Carter' Natasha replied, completely ignoring Tony's question and putting down her cup of tea down on the counter.

'You couldn't be losing sleep because you feel guilty being back here?' Tony asked continuing to press the Russian assassin.

'Would you believe me if I said I had jet lag?' Natasha countered as she started to stand up and make her way out of the kitchen and away from Tony Stark and his annoying questions. She thought she had told both Stark and the Captain yesterday not to push the subject. Obviously Tony had forgotten

'So you don't feel guilty at all for abandoning your husband and baby daughter to go off and do God knows what for ten years'

'Stark, don't start this now' Natasha stated heading towards the door and wishing, not for the first time since entering the tower, that she was allowed to shoot or seriously maim the annoying billionaire.

'You know Romanoff, just when I think I can begin to understand you, you come out from completely left field and do something really unexpected.' Tony said, leaning on the counter and looking directly at the retreating Russian. 'Your husband is missing and you are now watching over Sasha, the daughter you haven't seen in over ten years. Do you have any feelings?'

Natasha stopped still.

Over her many years at S.H.I.E.L.D, her ice cold demeanour and cool emotionless mask, had led to many whisperings that she was completely devoid of feelings. In the early days, these mutterings had not bothered her. No showing her emotions had been drummed into her from an early age and she was ice on the inside as well as on the outside. However over the years with S.H.I.E.L.D and being partners and eventually marrying Clint, she had thawed on the inside. The cold, emotionless exterior was now a coping mechanism.

At this moment in time, whilst she was displaying a cool calm exterior, her insides were in turmoil. She was deeply worried about Clint. He should not have been captured, it was not his mission. Fury was an idiot to put Clint and his partner Bobbie on a mission which was meant for her. The director of S.H.I.E.L.D should have been more patient with her shoulder injury and not Clint and Bobbie on a mission against people they did not know well.

Also she was worried about Sasha. She had heard her daughter tossing and turning last night, but did not have the courage to go and comfort her. She could kill a man just with her thighs in her sleep but mother an eleven year old girl made Natasha feel completely out of her depth. So instead of going into Sasha's room, she had told JARVIS to keep monitoring her daughter whilst she checked out the tower's security system, trying to keep Sasha safe the only way she knew how.

Now with Tony's probing questions, Natasha could feel her cool facade breaking and herself slipping. She slipped her hand to her belt and fingered to knife she always kept there. With one flick of her wrist, she could send the knife flying towards Tony Stark.

Natasha was jolted out of her slightly murderous thoughts by a small voice, which cut through the loud noisy kitchen.

'So you're my mother?'

* * *

Sasha was enjoying the conversation she was overhearing from her position near the kitchen door. She had had to move when Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper had arrived but had soon returned to her hiding place to listen in on the extremely interesting talk Uncle Tony was now having with Agent Romanoff. She could not believe that to formidable looking woman had a husband and a child. However what she heard next shocked her.

No

Not possible

Why hadn't they told her?

How could Agent Romanoff be her mother?

Sasha sank to the floor, taking in deep breaths, as all of these thoughts swirled around her head. After a second she shakily raised herself back to her feet and somewhat nervously shuffled into the kitchen.

'So you're my mother?' she asked, trying to sound brave, wanting to clarify what she had overheard.

Sasha could see Agent Romanoff stop and pause before taking a deep breath

'Yes Saskia I am' Agent Romanoff stated softly

'But how? What are you doing back here? You abandoned me! You abandoned Dad!' Sasha exclaimed looking around the kitchen. 'And the rest of you knew?' she asked in disgust turning to Tony, Pepper and Steve 'and you didn't think to tell me that the woman who was supposed to be protecting me is the same one who just disappeared off in the middle of the night without a trace, leaving behind her baby daughter and husband!'

'Now Sasha, please listen-' Steve started trying to calm his obviously distressed Goddaughter down

'I told them not to tell you Saskia' Natasha interrupted; drawing the angry eleven year old's attention back to the woman who apparently gave birth to her.

'I can't listen to this anymore' Sasha stated, walking backwards out of the room, tears starting to fall down her face. 'I need to think' and with that she turned and ran out of the room.

'Nice gone Stark' Natasha said angrily after her daughter had left the room. If only you could keep your big, fat mouth shut'. She then pulled the knife from her belt and threw it, putting all her frustration behind it, towards Tony. It flew through the air, missing Tony's ear by a whisker and imbedded itself in the wall directly behind him. The Russian assassin then turned on her heel and stalked out of the room.

* * *

Sasha ran and ran, her bare feet making a slapping sound against the white polished floors of Stark tower. Reaching one of the vent openings, she stood on a nearby plant pot before hoisting herself up inside. Once inside the vents, she scrambled through them, half blinded by tears, until she reached her father's nest, where she collapsed into a nearby pillow.

She could not believe the bomb that had just been dropped. Her mother, the person who had always been a big question mark in her life had now suddenly reappeared. What had occurred in the kitchen was completely the opposite of what she thought would happen when she finally met her mother. Sasha mentally berated herself for imagining that it would be all hugs, tears and laughter. She also imagined her mother to have the same dark curly hair that she had, but from what she could see Agent Romanoff looked nothing like her.

Sasha sat up and reached for the Stark Tablet her Dad normally kept under one of the piles of cushions. There was only one way to prove that Agent Romanoff was her mother.

'JARVIS' she whispered 'can you run a DNA test between me and Agent Romanoff?' she asked

'Miss Barton, the DNA files are heavily restricted and-'

'Please J, I have to know' Sasha begged

JARVIS sighed; he had always had a little soft spot for Miss Barton. Unlike Master Starks two terrors, Milly and Ed, she didn't go around trying to reprogram his systems all the time. 'DNA test coming right up' he stated.

'DNA test complete' the AI announced after a couple of minutes of nervous waiting on Sasha's part. 'I'm sending the results now'

Sasha looked down at the Stark Tablet she was holding tightly in her hands. _100% maternal match between Saskia Barton and Natasha Romanoff,_ she read in flashing green. 'Thanks JARVIS' she said, not really knowing what to think, everything that had been said in the kitchen now confirmed via science.

'Hey JARVIS, can I see my birth certificate?'

'Accessing the files now' JARVIS replied

Soon a document popped up on the Tablet screen which Sasha skimmed over quickly

**Name: **_Saskia Alys Roksana Barton _

**Gender: **_Female_

**Date of Birth: **_6__th__ December 2012_

**Mother's Name: **_Natalia Alianovna Romanova Barton_

**Mother's Occupation: **_Language analyst_

**Father's Name: **_Clinton Francis Barton_

**Father's Occupation: **_Bodyguard_

Sasha laughed at her parent's false occupations but she guessed you couldn't really write down, international super spies or Avengers.

'JARVIS, one last thing and then I'll stop bothering you. Can you not let everyone know where I am? I need some time alone'

'Yes Miss Barton'

And with that Sasha headed out of her Dad's nest and through the vents towards her special hiding place, but first she needed to get a couple of things.


	6. Chapter 5

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I've had a crazy couple of days, so I'm sorry if I haven't replied to them like normal. To everyone who has been asking about Clint, don't worry he will be appearing soon. I hope you like this chapter-please let me know what you think!_

_Many thanks ~ Cherry :)_

* * *

Natasha Romanoff uncharacteristically winced has her left fist collided with the punch bag in front of her. After the eventful breakfast in the kitchen, she had tried to concentrate on analysing the Russian spoken in the message the captor's had sent as well as decoding Agent Bobbie Morse's cryptic number sequence. The Russian was spoken perfectly, absolutely flawless, not halting and hesitant; leading Natasha to deduce that the sender was either a native speaker or had grown up speaking the language. However it was the accent which puzzled her. Russia was such a massive country with many different accents. The accent Natasha was hearing was not one found in Moscow, the capital, so Natasha was now going through her brain of all the different regional accents, in the hope that it would give S.H.I.E.L.D a clue as to where they were keeping Agents Barton and Morse captive. S.H.I.E.L.D so far had had no luck with voice recognition software.

However Natasha had been so frustrated with how everything had played out that morning, she had left her work to cool off in the Stark gym. When she had dreamed of her reunion with Saskia (and Clint), she had imagined it to be something like what happens in the soppy American movies Clint had forced her to watch when he was trying to introduce her to American culture. She had imagined Saskia recognising her and running straight into her arms, whilst Clint would greet her with a warm smile. Hugs and kisses would be exchanged and she would be forgiven.

Well; that was never going to happen, Natasha thought to herself, straightening up and beginning to unwind the protective wraps from around her hands. Her husband was currently being held captive by the people she swore would never get near her family and Saskia had run off after overhearing Tony Stark's revelation. Natasha knew that she was still in the tower and that JARVIS would be keeping an eye on her. Besides, if her daughter was anything like her father, Natasha knew she would probably want to be left alone.

Natasha reached up to touch her injured shoulder and her fingers came away with blood. If her night time exploratory climb of the tower had slightly pulled at the stitches the S.H.I.E.L.D doctor had put in when she had first come in to the Helicarrier from her adventure in Uzbekistan, then her angry work out and one sided spar with the punch bag and definitely torn them.

If the injury had been in any other place, she could have patched herself up with her standard field medical kit. When she and Clint had been partners they would take it in turns to patch each other up after missions, but now she did it herself. However since this wound was in the most awkward place on her left shoulder blade, she knew she would have to get someone else to re do the stitches. That meant going to see Doctor Banner.

* * *

'Ah, Agent Romanoff, what can I do for you today?' Dr Bruce Banner asked, peering over his glasses to look at the former Russian assassin who had just entered his lab.

'Hey Doctor Banner' Natasha said, somewhat nervously, not knowing how the scientist would receive her. Out of all the Avengers he was the quietest, preferring to keep to himself and was the only one (barring Tor who was on Asgard) who had not been present at the now infamous breakfast. Natasha showed Bruce her bloody hands. 'Don't worry I haven't killed Stark' she added, trying to lighten the mood, which was extremely tense as the Doctor looked at her warily. 'I was wondering if you could take a look at my shoulder.'

'Why don't you take a seat' he said, gesturing to a nearby chair, whilst standing up to collect the necessary equipment, before settling down behind her. 'It looks nasty' he commented, after removing the now blood soaked dressing, to reveal the gunshot wound underneath.

'Trust me, it looked so much worse two weeks ago' Natasha stated wincing slightly as he began to clean the wound.

'May I ask what happened' Bruce enquired, curious to know what the woman in front of him had been up to, since Tony's hack of the S.H.I.E.L.D database had been fruitless. It wasn't just the different coloured hair which made the Agent sitting in front of him seem so different to the one her had known ten years ago. That Natasha had been strong, confident and seemed completely in control. This Natasha, though undoubtedly still strong in her own way, seemed less confident and extremely world weary. There was a haunted look in her eyes. He had actually been annoyed at his friend for revealing Natasha's secret to Sasha. While they had not agreed with it, he felt that Tony should have respected Natasha's wishes.

'I was almost out of the compound with most of the girls' Natasha whispered, feeling she owed it to Bruce to know why he was patching her up 'when I turned back to see the one remaining guard had taken one of the last girl's hostage. He was holding his gun to her temple, she was terrified, and was demanding that I surrender and return the girls or he would blow her brains out. Of course I was not going to let that happen, I did not need any more red on my ledger. So I pretended to surrender and lower my gun and as he started gloating that he had managed to capture the elusive Black Widow, I shot him in the chest. I then grabbed the girl and started to run to safety. However as I was running away, in his last moments he shot me. I'm counting my lucky stars it only glanced off my shoulder and didn't hit it directly otherwise who knows what would have happened'

'You had no back up?'

'No, I was following my own lines of enquiry' Natasha replied evasively, before wincing again as Bruce started to redo the stitches.

'Am I hurting you, should I give you some local anaesthetic?' Bruce asked

'No it's fine' Natasha stated 'I've had much worse'

'You know what really puzzles me it the fact that you have had this wound for two weeks now, when it should have normally, with you, healed over night' Bruce remarked, knowing Natasha's unusual medical history.

'That's why I had to call Fury for help' Natasha admitted quietly. 'It didn't heal up and leave a scar overnight like usual, it felt like it was on fire. I struggled on for a couple of days, made arrangement for the girls but by then I had to admit defeat and call for back up. When I got back to S.H.I.E.L.D to doctors cleaned to wound, stitched it up and put some healing cream on it in the hope it would heal quickly'

'But how?' Bruce asked 'your super healing system shouldn't have just suddenly failed like that. Unless, was there something on the bullets'

'I think so' Natasha replied 'I think they were designed for me'

'Why?'

'Let's just say I know these people very well and unfortunately they know all about me'

'The Red Room' Bruce stated, remembering some of Natasha's history. They had been the people who had trained her to a killer. 'The compound you raided was a Red Room compound' he stated, putting all the pieces together.

'Something like that' Natasha replied

'And are they the ones who have captured Clint and agent Morse?' Bruce asked

'I think so, since they were stupidly given my mission' Natasha stated. 'I know you know that the mission was meant for me and not Clint and Bobbie'

Bruce looked at Natasha curiously, wondering how she knew that.

'I put a little bug in the S.H.I.E.L.D database which alerts me to when and who breaks in and looks at my file' she stated.

'So all this time you've been tracking down the Red Room?' Bruce asked

'When I held Saskia in my arms for the first time all those years ago, I swore nothing would take my family away from my again and I would do everything and anything to protect Saskia, the most precious, pure thing in my life. You know she was my little miracle baby?'

Bruce silently nodded, letting Natasha get it all out and explain why she had been gone for over ten years.

'I never thought I would be a mother, but there she was the white dot on my dripping red ledger. I thought being with her and Clint would keep her safe and then-' Natasha choked, her icy facade finally crumbling.

'They almost kidnapped her' Bruce finish, placing his last stitch and cutting the tread.

'I know we stopped it, but Fury told me of all the threats facing her, especially one they had picked up from the Red Room. I had to make a decision, to live in constant fear that Saskia would always be in danger or to go after them and finish it for good. I couldn't tell Clint, he would want to go with me and that would have left Saskia parentless and besides it was not his fight.'

'So you left'

'I left but I did not think it would be for this long.'

'So what are you going to do now you're back?' Bruce asked, now redressing the wound

'I have no idea, I want to be a mother to Saskia, but my job is not yet done, Clint's been captured and they are still out there besides Saskia probably hates me'

'Not really, she's probably just a little bit overwhelmed, her father missing and her mother reappearing in her life. I'm sure if you explained everything to her like you just did to me, she would understand. She's a very kind hearted girl.'

'Tell me about her?' Natasha asked, eager to hear more about her daughter.

'Well she's very bright, she loves animals, especially birds, chocolate and the colour purple' Bruce listed

'She gets that from her father' Natasha muttered with a smile, remembering Clint's purple obsession.

'She also loves to music and to dance, which I believe she gets from you' Bruce added

'Has she ever been seriously ill or injured?' Natasha asked, knowing that the doctor would have probably had to deal with Saskia if that was the case.

'Only minor playground cuts and bruises which faded extremely quickly and she hasn't even had a minor cold' Bruce replied 'I think she has your genetics to thank for. Right all done' he stated, sticking down the last dressing, before standing up.

'You understand why I did, don't you?' Natasha asked quietly

'Natasha, you know I know why you did it and what you went though better than most people' Dr Banner replied kindly, referencing his decision to leave behind his love Betty in order to protect her from the Hulk. She was now happily married with two children.

'Thank you Dr Banner, for patching me up and listening' Natasha said, standing up and heading towards the door.

'Natasha, you can call me Bruce' Bruce stated kindly 'after all we are friends and on the same team'

'Thank you Bruce' Natasha stated, before exiting the lab, her heart feeling slightly lighter, knowing that there was at least one person in the tower in her corner and that there was a slight chance Saskia might understand and forgive her. Natasha headed through the tower corridors quickly, she had a lot of work to do, but first she had to go and find her daughter.


	7. Chapter 6

'What are you listening to?' Natasha asked as she quietly approached the small figure that was wrapped in an old blanket to keep out the cool July night breeze and sitting at the top of Stark tower, looking out over Manhattan.

Sasha turned around sharply, music blaring loudly in her ears, as she noticed someone coming and sitting down next to her. 'Huh?' she asked, removing her headphones.

'I was wondering what you were listening to' Natasha repeated

'Oh...umm...The Beatles' Sasha replied, wondering what Natasha was doing sitting down next to her, after the way she had shouted at her that morning.

'You're Dad's favourite' Natasha commented, before passing over a plate heavily laden with food. 'Pepper put it together explained 'she was worried that you might be starving since she hasn't seen you eat anything thing today. I didn't tell her that you pinched some of Cap's biscuits and nicked half of Bruce's secret chocolate stash this afternoon'

Sasha looked at the woman net to her incredulously, wondering how she knew, but then she guessed she was a super spy. She looked down at the plate of food. It looked extremely healthy and green, not the stuff she currently felt like eating.

'Have this' Natasha continued handing over a thermos flask of what smelt like hot chocolate. 'I thought you might also like these' the agent added passing over a packet chocolate chip cookies.

Sasha turned to look at Natasha gratefully, this was much more appetising, to the salad and apple her Aunt Pepper had provided. 'So how did you find me?' she asked, somewhat warily, taking one of the cookies 'I told JARVIS not to tell anyone where I was'

'He didn't reveal your location to me or anybody else in the tower' Natasha replied. 'Popo led me to you'

'Popo!?' Sasha exclaimed in disbelief. She looked down at the well worn bluebird cuddly toy, which was lying innocently on her lap. 'But how?'

'When you were little, you would never go anywhere without him' Natasha explained. 'I was so worried I was going to lose you that I got Stark to design a tiny tracking device to fit inside him. He's probably forgotten all about it, but I hadn't. I just activated the device and it led me here. I shouldn't have been so surprised, Clint would spent hours up here gazing out over New York'

'What are you doing here?' Sasha asked

'I'm here because Fury asked me to come a protect you' Natasha answered

'I know that, but what are you here _now_?

'I came to talk to you, if that's alright?' Natasha stated hesitantly. 'I thought we should probably discuss what happened this morning-'

'That you are my mother and you abandoned me and my father for over ten years' Sasha interrupted angrily

'Well yes, but I was hoping you would give me a chance to explain my actions. I know it might sound weird Saskia, but I love you , I always have and that's why I had to leave you' Natasha said earnestly, hoping her daughter would believe what she was saying. 'There were bad people out there who wanted to harm you so I had to go and stop them. I never thought-'

'I overheard your conversation with Uncle Bruce' Sasha interrupted, stopping Natasha mid sentence. 'I didn't mean to' she then added hastily, trying to make it seems that she did not intend to eavesdrop, knowing how Natasha felt about privacy 'I was just on my way back from getting from of uncle Bruce's chocolate and heading to my room, when I heard you two talking and I kind of listened in' she finished sheepishly.

'So do you understand?' Natasha asked quietly, silently glad that she did not have to bare her soul (something so alien to her) for the second time in a matter of hours. She wasn't surprised Saskia had overheard them talking, she was after all, the daughter of two spies.

'I think so, I guess I'm still processing it' Sasha replied honestly after a short pause. 'This morning I had not a clue who my mother was and now she turns out to be a spy, who apparently left to protect me. One thing I didn't understand was who or what the Red Room was, and what they had to do with me'

'Saskia that is a discussion for another day' Natasha stated firmly. She wanted to be honest with her daughter but she didn't need to know everything right now.

'But'

'You don't need any more nightmares at the moment' Natasha said 'I heard you tossing and turning last night'

'How do you know Dad's alright? That he is not injured or dead?' Sasha asked, these questions being the reason why she was having nightmares. 'All he said was _'Semper Fi'_

Natasha looked at her dark brown haired daughter curiously, wondering how she knew this.

'Tony tapped into your phone call with Director Fury' Sasha explained.

This caused the woman next to her to mutter some colourful curses under her breath in Russian. She was going to have to have another word with Mr Stark (and her daughter) about privacy and personal space. There seemed to be a lot of spying and eavesdropping going on in the tower.

'So what does Semper Fi mean?' Sasha asked again

'It was a pre-planned code phrase, to let S.H.I.E.L.D know that he was unharmed. Did you know that your father was a sniper in the US Marine Corps before he joined S.H.I.E.L.D?' Natasha asked

Sasha nodded, knowing that part of her father's history. He had left the circus and after a year on the streets had enlisted in the Marine Corps, hoping it would give him a better life. Then after a couple of years S.H.I.E.L.D had noticed his amazing shooting skills and the rest was history.

'Well Semper Fi is their motto, taken from the Latin Semper Fidelis, meaning always faithful or always loyal' Natasha continued. 'The phrase means that he is still loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D, so has not been brain washed, and he would like some back up'

Sasha nodded, that all made sense. 'So were those number Bobbie's code phrase?'

'No' Natasha replied 'we're still trying to work out what they mean. Normally an agent's codeword or phrase is something personal to them, that only a few people close to them would get'

'So what's yours?' Sasha asked curiously, wondering if this notoriously private woman would share something with her. She knew they were mother and daughter but it reality they were strangers or acquaintances at most.

'Budapest' Natasha whispered, almost too quietly for Sasha to hear. 'It's where we got married'

'So what are we going to do?' Sasha asked after a couple of moment's silence 'I mean do you want me call you mom or something?'

'No' Natasha replied, before clarifying her statement. 'Natasha's just fine at the moment. I don't deserve to force you to call me mom, when you hardly know me. You can call me mom whenever you feel ready to'

'Oh, ok' Sasha stated. 'You know you can call me Sasha, like everyone else does. Only Dad and the Director call me Saskia and from anyone else it kind of makes me think that I'm being told off'

'Ok Sasha' Natasha replied, trying out the name on her tongue. 'You know, the first time I came to New York I got very lost' she started, wanting to share something with her daughter. 'In my line of work I had been to many different busy cities, but none quite like this one. It was my first time off the Helicarrier and away from S.H.I.E.L.D it two months and it was so wonderful. Walking around the city, I felt free, properly free, for the first time in my life. Your father, on the other hand, was at that very moment being an earful from Agent Hill for losing me-'suddenly Natasha stopped and stood up, a thought just occurring to her.

'What is it' Sasha asked, putting down her finished thermos flask of hot chocolate and looking around warily, wondering what had caused her mother to stop mid sentence.

'JARVIS can you get Agent Carter on the line?' Natasha asked, not hearing Sasha's question. 'I have an idea about Agent Morse's code that I need to bounce off her'

'Agent Romanoff, Agent Carter is currently visiting Captain Rogers in his quarters' JARVIS reported

'Well if she's not too busy can you ask her to meet me in the main area?'

'Yes Agent Romanoff'

'Oh JARVIS, can you assemle everyone else as well' Natasha added 'since they will probably just listen in any way'. Natasha then looked towards Sasha and gestured that they probably should head inside.

Sasha trailed after Natasha, wonbdering what on earth was going on.

'Agent Romanoff, what is it?' Agent Sharon Carter asked as she rushed into the Avenger's main area, looking slightly frazzled. Everything back at S.H.I.E.L.D Headquarters was extremely hectic so she had escaped to spend so quality time with her fiancé only for Natasha to summon her.

'Sharon, do you remember that stakeout in northern France a couple of years ago?' Natasha asked when everyone had arrived from the various parts of the tower.

'The one where we were stuck in that rickety old barn for days on end?' Sharon asked in response

'Yes, and we started talking about things, do you remember the deep question Maria asked?'

'Wasn't it the first time we had felt free?'

'Yes, can you remember what Bobbie replied?'

Sharon thought for a moment, her mind drifting back to that cold night five years ago. Everyone had been surprised by Maria, assistant director Hill's question. She had replied with a tale of the first time she went flying, Natasha told a story about her first time in New York and then it was Bobbie's turn to answer. 'She said it was when she left home and escaped from her father' Sharon answered. 'She was an atheist and was the odd one out in her very Christian family'

'But what did she say after that, something she was thankful for?' Natasha asked, trying to recall Bobbie's answer, but hitting a blank.

'Her excellent memory, I think' Sharon replied, wondering where Natasha was going with this line of thought. 'Her memory was trained by her father making her and her siblings learn all the Psalms off by heart'

'JARVIS can you bring up the 146th Psalm?' Natasha asked 'and then isolate the third verse?'

'_Do not put your trust in princes, in moral men who cannot save' _JARVIS recited

'Well if this was what Agent Morse meant by those numbers, what does this mean?' Tony asked

'Maybe Bobbie was close to someone with prince in their name, someone she trusted, and told them about this mission' Bruce suggested 'however they turned out to be some sort of mole and therefore Clint and Bobbie got captured'

'Good idea Bruce' Natasha stated. 'JARVIS can you hack into S.H.I.E.L.D and see if Agent Morse could have associated with someone with prince in their name?' Natasha asked. 'Oh don't look at me like that Stark; I know you frequently break in. Do you really think we're that stupid' she added.

'No people on the Helicarrier, should I expand the search the whole of the S.H.I.E.L.D personal database? JARVIS asked

'No need, Bobbie's only ever worked on the helicarrier' Natasha replied

'Check her phone records to see who she contacted recently' Steve suggested.

'The most recent and also most dialled number is one belonging to a Mr Vladimir Peters' JARVIS reported

'Vladimir?' Sharon questioned. She had never heard Bobbie mention anyone by that name before and they were pretty close.

'I think I've heard of him' Sasha piped up from the corner 'I think he could be her boyfriend'

'Vladimir!' Natasha suddenly exclaimed loudly

'Yes, that is his name' Tony remarked dryly 'it's Russian so you should be familiar with it'

'Stark, it's of Slavic origin meaning renowned prince' Natasha explained 'JARVIS, can I have a full background?'

'Vladimir Peters was born in New York to Nina and Yuri Peters who are originally from Moscow. Upon arrival to this country they changed their name from Petrovitch to Peters...'

Natasha froze. She had not expected to hear that name again after all these years. It brought back many bad memories

'Natasha, Agent Romanoff' Sharon said, trying to get the stunned agent's attention 'shall I inform Fury about this?' she asked 'Peters currently works as a translator consulting mainly with NYPD, but has worked with the FBI and other federal agencies in the past'

'Yes, there could be a huge breach of security if all these coincidences match up and he is a mole' Natasha replied. 'He definitely needs to be questioned'

'Will you do it Ma'am?' Sharon asked

'I'm sure I trained you to handle an interrogation' Natasha replied

'Yes Ma'am' Sharon stated wondering whether to be honoured or annoyed that her former trainer and handler was giving her this task.

'Come on Sasha time for bed' Natasha stated

'But it's only 8.30' Sasha protested

'Sasha, both you and I know that we could both do with a good night's sleep. It's been a long day'

Sasha just nodded, not really having the energy to argue with her mother. She was absolutely shattered.

'Agent Carter can you let me know what happens?' Natasha asked 'and I'll get back to you about the recording after I've met up with someone' and with that she ushered her daughter out of the room, leaving the remaining occupants of the tower to discuss what had just happened.

As Natasha lay in bed that night, trying to get to sleep, she hoped that they had made a step in the right direction and they would be able to get to Clint soon.


	8. Chapter 7

_I'm so so sorry it has taken me this long to post another chapter! Thanks to everyone who is reviewing this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter :)_

* * *

'Hey Bobbie, Bobs, wake up' Clint whispered as he reached over to shake his partner awake.

'What is it?' Bobbie replied grumpily, rolling over from where she was curled up on the hard stone floor, to face Clint.

'You fell asleep again' Clint stated from his place sitting on the ground next to her.

'So I like to sleep, I want to sleep'

'Bobbie, your head was smashed into the wall when they threw us in here. So, just in case you've got concussion, I have to keep waking you up'

'Clint?'

'Yes Bobbie?'

'Do you think people are going to come and look for us?' she asked into the darkness

'I honestly don't know Bobbie, who knows with S.H.I.E.L.D, but I'd like to think so, especially since they know we are still alive.

'Why are they keeping us alive?' Bobbie questioned 'and why did they make us record those messages?'

'I don't know why they've kept us alive' Clint answered. From what he knew of the Red Room, knowledge Natasha had passed on to him all those years ago and the pre-mission intelligence, they didn't normally take prisoners. It was highly unusual that the Red Room had taken them captive and this sent shivers down Clint's spine. He knew they were up to something. 'The recorded message was to give proof to S.H.I.E.L.D that we are still alive' Clint added. 'Actually, now I think of it, what was up with your message?' he asked 'it was not your normal code phrase. What did those numbers mean?'

'Oh Clint, I'm so sorry' Bobbie whispered unexpectedly, turning away from her older partner.

'Hey Bobs, what about?' Clint asked, startled by Bobbie's strange behaviour. What on earth could she be sorry about?

'It's all my fault! It's all my fault our mission failed and we got captured!' She exclaimed dramatically

'How come?'

'I told someone about this mission. I thought I could trust him. He kept pushing me as to why I couldn't suddenly go to the concert her had bought me tickets for our 6th month anniversary. I forgot protocol and told him. It must be my fault, everything else about this mission was so hush hush and confidential and I told someone. Knowing my appalling luck with me, he probably turned out to be some sort of spy.'

'Hey S.H.I.E.L.D could have messed up the intel, it wouldn't be the first time' Clint replied, trying to reassure is obviously distressed partner. He remembered several missions with Natasha where the intel made the job look like it was going to be quick and easy, however it would turn out to be a huge fire fight.

'You know this was meant to be Agent Romanoff's mission and that she collected the intel herself?' Bobbie asked, not really knowing the full history between the two agents.

'This was meant to be Nat-Agent Romanoff's mission?' Clint asked, not knowing this little tidbit of information

'Weren't you surprised to find we were going after a Red Room facility? Director Fury always gave anything to do with the Red Room to Agent Romanoff. She would be training Sharon and I one week and then off to some god forsaken place the next. Sometimes she would disappear unexpectedly for weeks or months on end. I have to be the reason why this mission failed' Bobbie cried with an uncharacteristic sob.

Clint, still trying to absorb all the information Bobbie, in her concussed state, had just told him, shuffled over to wrap a comforting arm around his younger partner. After Natasha had left him, he had worked alone, doing odd jobs for Fury or had gone out on world saving missions with the Avengers. The rest of the time he had spent raising his beautiful daughter and trying to give her a normal childhood. It had therefore come as a shock when Fury had suddenly introduced him to the young, bright, blonde and bubbly Bobbie Morse, who had just finished S.H.I.E.L.D training. Although at the time he had no idea his estranged wife had had a part in training his new partner, soon particular moves or actions, characteristically Natasha, would seep through. It had had been weird to have a partner again in the field and it had taken them a good couple of months to gel as a partnership. However, over the three years they had now worked together, Clint had come to regard Bobbie as a very good friend and almost like the little sister he never had.

'Who else did you tell Bobbie?' Clint asked 'Who was the man?'

'Vladimir, my boyfriend' Bobbie replied quietly 'Vladimir Peters. I thought he loved me but he probably just used me'

'So what did the numbers mean?'

'They are a message. They will let S.H.I.E.L.D know about Vladimir. I just hope that Sharon, Agent Hill, or even if she's in the country, Agent Romanoff, hear the message and remember. I'm so sorry Clint'

'It will be alright Bobbie' Clint said soothingly, hoping that his words would come true.

* * *

'What happened to your hair?' Sasha asked, appearing at her bedroom door and looking out over the apartment to find a red haired figure sitting on one of the sofas, poring over a stack of documents which were laid out on the coffee table.

'What, oh right, my hair' Natasha replied, looking up at her puzzled daughter, whilst reaching up to touch her red curls.

'It's red!'

'I know. I only dyed it light brown for my adventure in Uzbekistan, so I thought it was about time I restored it to its natural colour.'

'You've naturally got red hair?' Sasha asked, now wondering where her own chocolate brown curls had come from.

'Yes. I love my red hair, apart from the fact that it can sometimes be a bit too conspicuous'

'So what are you doing?' Sasha asked, walking towards where her mother was sat, still trying to get over the shock of the red hair and peering down at the documents, which were written in a strange language.

'Looking over the documents I got to give the person I'm meeting this morning' Natasha replied, snatching them out from under her daughter's curious nose, bundling them together and then placing them in the smart leather brief case, which was propped up against the side of the sofa.

'You're going out? Can I come with you?' Sasha asked eagerly. Since they had arrived two days ago, she had not left the tower and she hated the feeling of being cooped up. She wanted to get out.

Natasha was quiet for a while, as if she was weighing up all the options, the pros and the cons. On the one hand she could see Sasha was itching to get out of the tower and she knew Anya and Maks, would love to see Sasha again. However on the other hand, Sasha was safer in the tower and the streets of New York were dangerous.

'So?' Sasha pressed hopefully

'I guess you can come'

'Yes!' Sasha exclaimed, jumping in the air.

Sasha looked out of the window, watching the world go by. Even though it was an early July morning, she was amazed to see how busy New York was. As the newly red haired Natasha drove them, in a car she had pinched from Tony's car collection, over Brooklyn Bridge, Sasha wondered where they were going. Where did super spies go to meet people? She had images of shady dark rooms or back alleys, not Brooklyn. Since her mother showed no sign of stopping any time soon, Sasha curled up on the back seat and closed her eyes.

* * *

'Wakey wakey'

Sasha opened her eyes blearily, slightly disorientated, wondering where she was.

'We're here' Natasha announced, standing above her daughter, with the back door open. 'I hope you're hungry'

Having finally remembered where she was, Sasha slowly climbed out of the car and looked around. They were at the beach. She gave Natasha a questioning glance.

'We're at Brighton Beach' Natasha explained whilst closing the door before locking the car. Sasha looked around area curiously. There were signs written in English and what she guessed was Russian. Natasha led her quickly down a series of streets until they came to a stop outside a small cafe. 'I hope you are hungry' Natasha said, before opening the door and entering.

'_Natalia, Natalia is that you?' _asked the old, grey haired lady, standing behind the counter, having been altered to the early morning customers by the bell on the door.

Sasha watched as the lady made her way over to her mother, continuing to speak in the strange language.

'_Hello Anya' _Natasha replied in the same language

'_Oh Natalia, I was so worried, we hadn't heard from you for weeks' _the lady stated, before unexpectedly throwing her arms around Natasha, causing the red haired assassin to wince slightly as she came into contact with her still tender shoulder.

'_I'm fine Anya' _Natasha stated, seeing the older lady's concerned face. '_I've brought someone to meet you' _Natasha said gesturing towards her daughter, who had been trying to work out what on earth was being said. 'Anya meet Saskia, who prefers to be called Sasha, and Sasha meet the amazing Anya' Natasha said, reverting back to English.

'Saskia? This is your little _Sashenka_?' Anya asked in heavily accented English, looking down at the small child standing by Natasha's side.

'Yes' Natasha replied proudly

'Oh, let me look at you' Anya announced, now drawing a slightly shocked Sasha into a bone crushing hug. 'She has grown so much!' Anya exclaimed 'You were only a little _rebenok_ when I last saw you and now you've grown into such a beautiful young lady'

Sasha giggled

'I guess you must be hungry?' Anya asked

'Starving Anya' Natasha replied 'I'll have my usual please'

'And what would you like?' Anya asked turning to Sasha

'I'm fine, I'm not that hungry' Sasha stated hastily, not knowing what to ask for. Then her stomach disobeyed her and rumbled

'She'll have some blinis Anya' Natasha stated.

'One bowl of kasha and one plate of blinis coming right up' Anya announced before bustling back around the counter and into the kitchen, leaving Natasha and a bewildered Sasha into a nearby booth, in the empty cafe.

'What are blinis?' Sasha asked, when she had sat down

'They are like Russian pancakes' Natasha explained

'And kasha?'

'Porridge'

As silence settled between Natasha and Sasha, the Russian, started to rifle through the black leather brief case, fishing out various pieces of paper. Eventually she stood up and headed towards the kitchen. '_Anya, is it ok if I head upstairs and speak to Maks? I have some things I need to ask him and some documents as to who I found in Uzbekistan to hand over to him'_

'_He's expecting you' Anya replied, whilst mixing the blini batter._

'_Can you keep an eye on Sasha for me?'_

'_Of course'_

Sasha looked around the strange cafe. It was small and fairly small. However what made it unique were all the different things up on the wall. There were pictures of various landscapes and photographs, both in black and white and colour of many different people. At one end of the cafe was a case containing a gun and an impressive collection of medals and at the other was a pair of pink worn ballet shoes, pinned to the wall.

'They belonged to you mother' came a voice, with a heavy Russian accent next to Sasha, causing the eleven year old to jump. 'Natalia gave them to me to keep safe, when she was brought to this country. Natalia's just headed upstairs to talk to my husband Maks, whilst I sorted out your breakfast' Anya explained, leading Sasha into the kitchen 'and I promised to keep an eye on you'

'Oh' Sasha said perching herself in one corner of the tiny kitchen and watching Anya bustle around.

'You know you remind me so much of your mother when she had around your age' Anya commented, trying to make conversation, whilst making the kasha. 'You definitely look very similar'

'Really?' Sasha questioned, not seeing any resemblance between her and Natasha.

'Oh yes'

'How do you know Natas- I mean-my mother?' Sasha asked curiously, hoping to find out more information about Natasha.

'She was sent to kill me'


End file.
